Lars Mittank Re-release

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1:50Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder. This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.

2:22There are cases in true crime that spark a lot of wild theories. Cases that become so sensationalized that they get overanalyzed and picked apart to pieces. And often, these theories overshadow the mundane facts of the case. I think a great example of this is the case of Elisa Lam. For those who may not be familiar, in 2013, 21-year-old Elisa Lam lost her life in the water tank of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, California. After surveillance video of Elisa acting odd in an elevator was made public, theories about what might have happened to her spread like wildfire. The crazier theories ranged from her seeing a ghost, to her playing the infamous elevator game that took her to another dimension, before tragically transporting her to the water tank where she couldn't escape, to the ghost of serial killer Richard Ramirez killing her.

3:22The truth of what happened to Elisa Lam, and many other cases with wild theories, is often much more mundane. As far as I could find, Elisa's parents are content with the answers they got about their daughter's death. That it was likely Elisa wasn't taking her medication as prescribed, and she suffered some type of mental break that led her to climbing into the water tank, unable to get back out. It's tragic and horrific, even without any wild theory. But for some, the most reasonable explanation, the explanation her family, who by all accounts loved her very much, accepted, just wasn't enough for many true crime consumers.

4:04To be totally honest, I was one of those consumers. I was enthralled by the case of Elisa Lam. My mind also went wild with all of those popular theories. I honestly couldn't get enough information about the case. But the issue is, the focus wasn't entirely on Elisa as a person. Few people, myself included, stopped to ask if maybe there was a deeper issue. That maybe this is behavior Elisa had exhibited in the past. The focus was that video. It wasn't until years later, when I really got into the true crime space, that I realized that like so many of these cases, Elisa got lost in her own story.

4:48The truth is, what we saw in that elevator footage wasn't a one-time occurrence. According to her family, Elisa had a similar episode when she was off of her medication in the past. But that didn't seem to matter. The theories became larger than her. And many are still hesitant to accept the most logical explanation for what happened to her. Now, I can't help Alisa. Her case is closed and her family is content with the answers they've been given. I won't argue with that. But I feel like I can help a case that has become sensationalized in a similar way. The case of Lars Matank. Lars has been called the most famous missing person on YouTube, but when I dug in for facts on his case, they were difficult to find.

5:37The articles that came up in an easy Google search were full of conflicting information, and they mostly focus on that now infamous video of him running through the airport in Varna, Bulgaria. So I dug deeper. The day Lars went missing, he was terrified and spoke with his mother several times. So I looked for interviews, for information from her, from the private investigators she hired, and from the friends Lars was on vacation with. Because this is a case where much of the source material is in other languages, I basically spent a lot of time on Google Translate. But then, I found a YouTube video from a German creator named Insolito.

6:20In 2020, Insolito released his over-hour-long documentary about Lars. He spoke with Lars' mother Sandra, the private investigator, and got his hands on some related documents. As of recording this episode, his video in German has over 1.6 million views. But that same video translated into English only has 65 ,000 views. This really kind of blew my mind. When you search Lars Matank on YouTube, you find a ton of very short, very popular videos in English with upwards of 4 million views. These videos do mostly focus on that infamous video, and they are usually riddled with misinformation. It was the same misinformation I saw across most popular American media sources.

7:13These things happen. I mean, although I try to conduct the best research I can for these cases, I'm sure I get things wrong all the time. What really got me was the lack of interest in this extremely informative video that was gathering information directly from the sources. It's not as if this video has been buried by the YouTube algorithm. When you search Lars Matank, it comes right up. So it became pretty clear to me that people would rather watch the short, sensational videos of the quote crazy man running out of the airport rather than dig deeper for the facts. Just like people were more fascinated with Elisa Lam and what she was doing in that elevator footage than her mental state.

7:56Or maybe creators are just hesitant to give credit to Insolito's extremely thorough research on this case. Because I have to say, this episode would not have been possible without him. I would not in good faith be able to tell you Lars' story without Insolito clarifying the timeline and so many other crucial facts about this case. His video will be linked in the episode description, and I highly recommend you watch it for yourself. The bottom line is, I want to cut through the misinformation and the theatrics of this case and bring you the facts. because Lars is still missing, and in my opinion, focusing on the facts is what's going to help bring him home.

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9:58From building timelines to assigning the right people and even spotting risks across dozens of projects, Monday Sidekick knows your business, things ahead, and takes action. One click on the star and consider it done. And I owe it all to you Try Monday Sidekick, AI you'll love to use, on Monday.com Now, I know my introduction slash rant was much longer than my normal intros, but before I dig in, I do want to say that I have never had the pleasure of traveling anywhere outside the United States, let alone to Germany or Bulgaria where much of my information comes from. I was at the mercy of Google Translate and others who have translated this case into English.

10:42If I get names, phrases, or information wrong, please educate me. I'd love to learn how to better cover international cases like this. So please be kind and educate me. I promise I'm trying my best. Lars Joachim Metink was born on February 9, 1986. He grew up in Marne, Germany on the North Sea. Lars has been described as your typical young man. He did well in school, he was well-liked by his peers, and he loved football. Specifically, his local team, Werder Bremen. After high school, Lars trained to be a power plant operator, and moved about 150 kilometers or 93 miles away from his parents to the city of Wilhelmshaven to work at a power plant in the area.

11:32Unfortunately, in 2012, his father had a stroke. Lars is an only child, so he would make the long trip to see them as often as he could. He just wanted to help care for his father and help his mother Sandra around the house. Aside from this, Lars seemed quite happy. He enjoyed his job, he had a great group of friends that he'd grown up with, and he was in a steady relationship with his girlfriend. Before he went missing, his mother came to visit Lars, and he showed her all around the city, expressing interest in purchasing a home and settling down. But in 2014, Lars was only 28, and he still liked to go out and have a good time when he could.

12:14So he and five friends, many of which he grew up with, planned a little vacation that summer. They decided to travel to a resort town in Varna, Bulgaria named Golden Sands. This area of Varna has been likened to the infamous celebrity vacation spot Ibiza, Only, it was not an island, and it was much more affordable. It's basically a huge party town on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria. This area of Golden Sands has a ton of different hotels in the area. Lars and his friends decided on the Hotel Viva, also known as the Viva Club Hotel. I looked at resorts in the area, and they all seem about the same.

12:55Mid-range, desirable hotels on the beach, popular with tourists. I couldn't find anything special or abnormal about the Hotel Viva, so why they picked this hotel over the others isn't exactly clear. But they booked the trip and flew a few hours from Germany to Varna, Bulgaria. The group arrived on Monday, June 30th, 2014. They do exactly what you'd expect in a beach resort town. They go to a lot of bars and spend a lot of time on the beach. Paul Roman, one of Lars' friends who was on the trip as well, has said, quote, We relaxed on the beach, swam in the pool, played football, went clubbing. He was relaxed.

13:38He was in a good mood. End quote. Now, another friend pointed out something that has been used as a speaking point in many of the wilder theories about this case. When asked if Lars was displaying any odd behavior, Tim Schult told German media, quote, I noticed he didn't eat much. He'd have a bowl of soup or a small plate of salad and that was it. End quote. Many people have pointed to this quote, saying it was an indication that something was wrong with Lars on the trip. But to me, it seems like a mundane observation that has been taken out of context. Others who knew Lars have openly spoken about how health-conscious Lars was.

14:18He just didn't like a lot of junk food or fried food, which is pretty popular in a lot of the bars and clubs they were going to. One fruit vendor in the area remembered Lars coming to the stand every single day. He would pick up something healthy to eat, they'd chat, nothing serious. He said he seemed like a normal, nice tourist. It also sounds like there was a lot of drinking going on in this trip. So maybe Lars was just trying to balance out what he was putting into his body. Others have theorized that it was just really hot and that probably curbed his appetite. Either way, I don't think that there's anything serious here that could point to any larger issues with Lars.

14:58And from what I could find, neither does his mother, Sandra. Really, everything in this trip seemed to be going just fine until a few days later, on the night of June 3rd, 2014. Lars and his friends go into a bar in the area. No one is quite sure of the name. But they remember the football game started at 11pm. It was the quarterfinals between Costa Rica and the Netherlands. At some point, Lars begins exchanging flags with some other patrons in the bar. Everything was in good fun until a group of men got upset. This group has been mostly described as just a bunch of guys who just graduated from high school.

15:35They got upset about what Lars was doing and there was an argument. It never got physical. But the group reportedly told Lars something to the effect of, It isn't hard to pay someone to beat someone up. Despite this threat, the night went on like normal. In fact, Lars and his friends were the last group to leave the bar around 4am, now the morning of Friday, July 4th. Their hotel was just over a kilometer away, or about half a mile away from this bar. Some of Lars' friends wanted to stop at McDonald's to grab some food before going back to the hotel. But Lars wasn't a fan of McDonald's, and again, he was very health conscious.

16:15so he tells them he's just going to head back to the hotel alone. But on his way back, Lars gets attacked by four men that he believed were either Bulgarian or Russian. Lars doesn't get seriously injured, but he does take a pretty hard blow to his ear that ruptured his eardrum. After this, it appears Lars just goes back to the hotel to try to sleep it off. He would later state that he believed the men were likely hired by the high school graduates at the bar due to their statement. The next day, July 5th, Lars calls his girlfriend. He tells her about the trip and the fight, and she tells him to go to the doctor.

16:52But Lars insists that he's fine, and he pretty much just keeps partying that weekend. On Monday, July 7th, the group is scheduled to fly home. That morning, Lars' ear still hurts, and he's afraid that flying might damage his ear further. So, Lars goes to a local doctor. The doctor tells him that yes, his eardrum is ruptured and he cannot fly home that day. He refers Lars to the St. Anna Hospital for further examination. But instead of going to the hospital, Lars goes back to the hotel to tell his friends that he can't fly home with them that night. His friends insist that someone can stay behind with him until he's cleared to fly.

17:34But Lars says it's totally fine. He explains that incidents like this is exactly why he purchased travel insurance, and he will contact them to make sure he gets home. So Lars basically waits with his friends until they need to go to the airport. Around 8pm, the shuttle to the airport picks up his friends, and Lars takes a taxi to the St. Anna Hospital. At 8.40pm, Lars is seen by an ears, nose, and throat doctor. But something happens. Lars would later tell his mother that during the visit, the doctor seemed to be mocking him, and refused to speak to him in English. So, Lars gets a prescription for an antibiotic, pays about 60 euros for the visit, and leaves.

18:17From here, the same cab driver was still waiting outside, and takes Lars to a pharmacy. But they couldn't fully complete the prescription, so the same cab takes him to a second pharmacy where the prescription is filled. This is shortly after 10pm. When Lars finally gets his medicine, he asks the taxi driver to take him to a cheap hotel. But the driver tells him that because it's summer, their busy season, most of the hotels will be fully booked. So he suggests the hotel color. A hotel located in a less exciting, more run-down area. But it was close to the airport, so Lars agrees. According to some reports, the taxi driver has stated that before going to the hotel color, Lars initially planned on stopping at a store next to the hotel to buy some water, but after seeing some scary-looking guys at the store, he decided to just go straight to the hotel.

19:14The driver says that after leaving the taxi, Lars pays him and gives him a very generous tip. When Lars checks into the hotel, he says that his bank card is copied. This would later really freak him out. Now, this is something I really tried to find more detail on, because I worked in retail. There actually are some valid reasons for copying someone's card. Mostly to process sales while the point of sale system is down or to keep a card on file for recurring charges. Basically, it's not only just to have the card number, but to prove that you did physically see the card. You typically put the card into this little machine that has paper underneath that creates a bunch of carbon copies.

19:57You slide a little piece of plastic over it and you have an imprint of the card. The thing was, I couldn't find out why the card was copied or how it was copied. So I can't tell you if there was a legitimate reason for the person behind the desk to do this. I can tell you that even when I explained how and why I had to make a copy of someone's bank card, it was pretty common for them to be suspicious and just not like it. and I was the manager in a high-end area in a high-end establishment. Lars was in a foreign country, in a pretty sketchy hotel in a sketchy area. So this freaked him out, and I totally understand why.

20:39I can't say I have all the answers for Lars' behavior, but I think being paranoid about this is a fair reaction. Either way, after he checks in, Lars goes to his room and then down to the hotel bar to get some water for his medication. At 11pm, Lars calls his mother, Sandra. Now, it's important to note here that Lars only had a burner phone with him. According to his mother, he really wanted to enjoy this trip to the fullest. So he left his smartphone at home and opted for a little burner phone that wouldn't be so distracting. The problem was, he was almost out of credits for the phone. So in this first call to his mom, he asks if she can put some money on the phone, and she agrees.

21:24After this, he made many phone calls to his mother. He explains the fight he was in, the injury to his ear, the terrible encounter with the doctor, and he asks her to call his travel insurance agency to see if they can help get him home. They hang up, Sandra calls back, and confirms that she submitted a claim. At this point, Lars is becoming panicked and begins acting strange. He tells his mom about the hotel and how his bank card was copied at the front desk. He tells her that he cannot stay in this hotel. He then asks Sandra to call his bank to see if they can just put a hold on the card. But the bank tells Sandra they can't really do that, but they can cancel the card.

22:07She calls Lars, Lars says yes, please just cancel the card, and he insists that he has enough cash to make it until he can get home. Obviously, Sandra is getting really concerned at this point. and she just books Lars a bus ride home for 11.30pm the next night. She tells Lars that just in case he can't fly tomorrow, he would at least have some type of transportation home. She then tells Lars to relax, get some sleep, and heal up. They end the call, but Lars calls back not long after. He insisted again that there was something wrong with the hotel. He felt like his room might be bugged, and he was being watched.

22:49Now, before your mind starts going in that direction, a private investigator later hired by Sandra to look for Lars stayed at the Hotel Color to get a better understanding of why Lars felt this way. This P.I. says that he stayed in a lot of sketchy hotels, but he wouldn't dare sleep at the Hotel Color. He added that he could hear conversations from the bar on the first floor all the way up on the third floor. So, he imagines Lars was likely overhearing conversations throughout the hotel, realized people likely heard his conversation about the card being copied, and just got paranoid. At the end of this particular call, Lars tells Sandra, quote, I have to get out of here, end quote.

23:34Throughout the night, Lars paces in the common areas of the hotel and leaves the hotel in the middle of the night. At 2.30am on now Tuesday, July 8th, Lars calls his mother again. He says he's left the hotel, and he was being followed by four men. He was speaking very softly, and told his mother he was, quote, high up and could fall down, end quote. Not long after, the call ends. Now, the PI would step in again with another reasonable explanation, that Lars was an obvious tourist in a bad area, and likely was being targeted for a robbery. But that is just a theory. Again, I don't have an explanation for everything, and there are some genuine mysteries in this case.

24:24It's possible that four men were following him. Maybe they were even the same four men that beat him up a few days before. We just don't know. At 3.06am, Lars texts his mother to ask about the antibiotic he was prescribed, writing, quote, Cephcil 500, what is this? End quote. At 3.15am, he sends an identical text to his mother again. But Sandra believed Lars was in hiding and could be in danger, so she didn't call. She just booked him a plane ticket for 4.20pm that afternoon. He would be in Hamburg by 9.45pm. Now Lars had two different ways to get back home. Sandra didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew her son was not acting like himself, and she wanted him home.

25:14Sandra would later tell the German media, I thought, God, my son is in danger. I could hear his heart pounding over the phone. He said people were trying to rob him or kill him, end quote. Around sunrise, Lars is seen frantically waving down a taxi. Despite this driver already having a woman in the car, he stops to pick up Lars as well. Both the driver and this woman would report that Lars' pupils appear to have been dilated. Lars arrives at the Varna airport at 5am. I haven't been able to find out a concrete answer as to why Lars was at the airport almost 12 hours before his flight. But considering he obviously didn't feel safe at the hotel color, I think it's reasonable to assume he probably just felt safer at the airport, and definitely wanted to get home as soon as possible.

26:06Lars calls his mom again, but by this time, the battery on his burner phone was almost dead. I honestly have no idea if he just didn't have a charger or what the deal was. But Lars and his mother keep it short, just speaking necessary information to each other. This time, Lars was asking Sandra to wire him money via Western Union. This part is important. Lars had never used Western Union before. He didn't even know what it was until he had a conversation with a mystery man at the airport who told him about it. Lars also never told Sandra how much he needed, just that he needed money. If you've never sent money through Western Union before, the first time can be pretty confusing and a little scary.

26:52One mistake and that money can just be gone. But Sandra recalls that Lars was very coherent when he was explaining this system to her. For Sandra, this and other factors I'm going to get into in a moment lead her to believe that Lars was likely in his right mind. A little scared, maybe, but he was coherently able to explain this program to her without any issue. After this, Sandra gives him details for the bus and flight she booked for him. She then tells Lars he needs to go see the doctor at the airport before flying. But then, Lars tells her that he's already been told he can't fly or drive.

27:32Lars did elaborate a little and said that he looked dirty from hiding from the men earlier in the morning. So Sandra tells Lars to go to the restroom, wash his face, freshen up a bit, and then go see the doctor. They hang up. Sandra sends Lars 500 euros from Western Union. Sandra was later asked why she sent 500 euros, and she said she just picked an amount she felt would help him. She didn't really know how much to send. When Sandra calls to tell Lars that the transfer had been completed, the line picks up, but she just hears murmurs. So, she assumes Lars accidentally answered the phone while he was in the restroom.

28:13She tries again later, but Lars never answers his phone again. However, Sandra, her lawyer, and her PI were able to track some of Lars' movements after she lost communication with him. At 9am, Lars does see a doctor at the airport. Dr. Kostov. The exam lasts 42 minutes. The doctor says Lars is fine to fly. He just needs to sign a waiver to do so. He gives Lars some eardrops and attempts to give him more medication, but Lars refuses, stating he had an adverse reaction to the antibiotic he was currently on. Now, here's where things get really dicey. The problem is, this doctor has changed his story several times.